2. Recurring themes emerging from the consultation

The consultation analysis report pulls out the key themes from
responses relating to each of the commitments and outcomes that
were asked about in the consultation.

There were some recurring key themes and key issues relating to
the delivery plan, outcomes or over-arching themes over all.

This chapter pulls together these themes and key issues,
including identified gaps in the delivery plan. The points are
referred to briefly here, and are covered in more detail throughout
the main body of the report.

Recurring themes

Consultees were generally supportive of the delivery plan and
its aims, but wanted it to go further.

The need for meaningful, early, and on-going engagement with
disabled people, disabled people's organisations (
DPOs) and
other expert stakeholders was highlighted repeatedly throughout the
consultation responses. This engagement should be on-going from the
start right through to the monitoring and evaluation stage. It was
also seen as important to engage with the families and carers of
disabled people. The Scottish Government itself, identified
engagement as one of the cross-cutting themes required to underpin
delivery of the outcomes, but consultees felt that more work was
required in this area.

Inclusive communication was highlighted repeatedly as being very
important, and includes, but needs to go beyond, British Sign
Language (
BSL), Braille and
producing Easy Read information. It is about communicating with
people on a level that they can understand, so that they can
understand their rights and have their opinions heard.

Some commitments are too vague - consultees wanted firm targets
and set deadlines by which to meet them.

The need to widen the plan out to cover all disabled people was
highlighted. Certain commitments focus on specific disabilities,
specific workforces, a particular age, or gender (including, for
example,
commitment 23 around a
NHS Scotland
Learning Disability Employment Programme,
commitment 30 which refers to a Child
Internet Safety stakeholder group, and
commitment 54 about exploring violence
against disabled women and girls). The belief that all disabled
people should be covered by the actions in the plan was
expressed.

Geographical inequalities were mentioned in relation to a number
of commitments, such as a lack of transport in rural areas, and
variation in service provision (for example Additional Support for
Learning) in different areas.
Commitment 13 (funding for a new para sport
facility in Inverclyde), in particular, was widely criticised for
not meeting the needs of disabled people who live outwith the
central belt of Scotland, and there were comments indicating that
consultees would prefer local sporting facilities services to be
improved and made more accessible.

Not all barriers are physical - attitudes and stigma were often
described as the biggest barrier, but there is a belief that parts
of the plan focus too much on physical access. Attitudinal barriers
might be less tangible and harder to tackle than physical barriers,
requiring long term strategies around education and awareness, but
it is crucial that they are addressed. The Scottish Government
recognises in its cross-cutting themes section that the barriers
facing disabled people need to be known, understood and
addressed.

The cross cutting nature of the commitments - it was noted that
achieving the desired outcomes would mean groups across different
areas of government working together, and different agencies
communicating and working together. It was also noted that the
links between different
UN treaties and pieces of
legislation had to be made. Many of the commitments are
interdependent on others. It was highlighted that access to
transport has an impact on access to other key areas such as
education, health services, employment and sport and culture.
Similarly, having adequate housing was seen as necessary in order
to access other rights. It was also noted that basic needs had to
be met through an appropriate social security system, in order to
realise other rights.

There was a desire for person-centred services, which treat
disabled people with dignity and respect, and meet their needs in a
time and place which is suitable.

Disability and equality training for staff across a range of
services including health; leisure; transport; justice; and
education was called for, along with training and awareness-raising
for employers so that they would be more confident and better able
to employ disabled people and make necessary reasonable
adjustments.

Disabled people are not a homogeneous group and have different
needs and desires. In particular, intersectionality was mentioned.
It is important to consider how various factors, such as sharing
more than one protected characteristic, can intersect and lead to
multiple disadvantage.

Human rights - Amongst those who were critical of the
cross-cutting themes identified by the Scottish Government, there
was a belief that human rights needed to be more central to the
delivery plan. In particular, it was mentioned that the PANEL
approach (participation, accountability, non-discrimination,
empowerment and legality) to human rights should be used. It was
stated that PANEL principles should be embedded throughout the
delivery plan.

Model of disability used - The delivery plan states that it uses
a social model of disability. Whilst there seemed to be a
preference for the social model of disability as opposed to the
medical model, it was commented that sometimes language in the
delivery plan seemed more in line with the medical model rather
than the social model. Some consultees wished to go beyond the
social model of disability to a bio-psycho-social model, which
includes elements of both the medical and social model rather than
seeing them as dichotomous, or to use an assets based model of
disability which focuses on what people can do rather than what
they cannot do, or to a human rights based model of disability,
which recognises that legal, physical, attitudinal, social,
cultural and communication barriers within the community are what
exclude disabled people.

Implementation of the delivery plan - Numerous comments were
received relating to how the plan could be put into practice,
including the need for engagement with disabled people; adequate
funding and resourcing; cross-cutting working; building on existing
knowledge and sharing good practice; and the need for monitoring
and evaluation.

Monitoring and evaluation - It was recognised that there was a
need to monitor and evaluate the commitments, both to ensure that
they were implemented and adhered to, and to assess whether or not
they were having an impact on the lives of disabled people. It was
seen as important to include disabled people and
DPOs in
this monitoring and evaluation process. It was also noted that
commitments needed to be specific and include timescales.

Dissatisfaction with the current situation for disabled people
permeated a number of responses from individuals and groups who
represent disabled people. Dissatisfaction was expressed across a
range of different areas, including, but not limited to: access to
transport; access to sport and culture; access to work, including
the recruitment process; the low numbers of disabled people taking
up Modern Apprenticeships; assessments for disability-related
benefits, current advocacy provision; the fact that people with
learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorders are subject to
the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003; the
experience of accessing health and social care, gaps in information
and support; and engagement processes which do not feel meaningful,
or lead to change. There was a feeling that much needs to change,
and that disabled people need to be involved in directing that
change.

Gaps

Some consultees highlighted areas which they felt were key gaps
in the delivery plan.

The absence of a focus on mental health and commitments relating
to mental health was a key area of concern. It was seen as
essential to include an explicit focus on mental health if there
was to be parity between those with physical disabilities and those
with mental health conditions. It was also commented that there was
a need for more focus on other "unseen" disabilities such as
autism, and learning disabilities.

More focus is needed on children and young people, and the early
years. This reflects both the specific vulnerabilities faced by
young disabled people due to their age, which can make them more
reliant on others, such as parents, in order to meet their needs,
and also the crucial role that the early years can have on future
outcomes. It was felt that in order to improve the future outcomes
of young disabled people, there needed to be a specific focus on
meeting their needs early on.

There were calls for more focus on education, for children and
young people, but also further education for adults, including
those for whom employment might not be an option due to their
disability. Comments relating to education referred to the
education that disabled children receive, with a preference for
this to occur in mainstream schools, but also referred to the
education of all children more widely, with a belief that more
should be taught to children about disability and equality and
tolerance from a young age. This was seen as a preventative
strategy against stigma, discrimination and hate crime.

It was stated that there was not enough focus on social care in
relation to health and social care integration, and the role that
social care can play in supporting disabled people in their lives.
There were concerns that within health and social care integration,
the focus would be health-led, which does not acknowledge the key
role that social care can play in supporting disabled people to
lead independent lives, and has the potential to be preventative,
and lessen their need to access health care. There were concerns
that a health focus would be more concerned with intervention at
crisis stage, rather than longer term investment in preventative
social care support.

Transition periods, particularly between school and post-school
and children to adult services are seen as a particularly
vulnerable time, and can result in young disabled people losing
valuable support services. It was felt that more attention needed
to be paid to improving transitions, especially for the most
vulnerable, such as disabled young people who have been in
care.

It was believed that more emphasis should be given to the right
to a personal and social and family life, and the need to take
steps to reduce social isolation and promote social inclusion.

It was mentioned that access to civic and political life should
have been included

It was mentioned that access to justice, should be applied in
the widest sense, and include civil justice.